The Axe of Wandsbek
(Das Beil von Wandsbek)
Das Beil von Wandsbeck © DEFA-Stiftung, Erich Kilian
Harnack, Falk |
Bortfeldt, Hans Robert |
Harnack, Falk |
Steinhauer, Marieluise |
Tegener, Hildegard |
Baberske, Robert |
Schneider, Karl |
Zander, Erich |
Schulze-Mittendorf, Walter |
Roters, Ernst |
Zweig, Arnold |
Braun, Käthe |
Ebinger, Blandine |
Geschonneck, Erwin |
Helmke, Gefion |
Hinzelmann, Helmuth |
Holm, Claus |
Kleinau, Willy A. |
Meissner, Ursula |
Schröder, Arthur |
Sessak, Hilde |
Hahne, Kurt |
Synopsis
Hamburg, Germany 1934: An executioner is needed. Teetjen (Erwin Geschonneck) makes the biggest mistake of his life. Because his butcher shop is facing bankruptcy, he agrees to execute a group of political prisoners for the Nazis. Once this becomes known, Teetjen’s life falls apart.
Commentary
The Axe of Wandsbek was the only DEFA film made by Falk Harnack, a former anti-Nazi resistance fighter who was interested in exploring the involvement of the middle class in Nazi crimes. Despite positive reviews, the film was withdrawn shortly after its premiere; it became the first East German film ever to be banned.
The film is adapted from one of the most important works by German-Jewish author Arnold Zweig; basing the story on real events, Zweig wrote the novel in exile in Palestine in 1943.
Awards
2010 | Shown at the New York Jewish Film Festival |
Press comments
“A rediscovered treasure from post-war German cinema.”
— Anne Nelson, author of Red Orchestra
“Credits are top grade!”
— Variety
“The psychologically nuanced film version of Arnold Zweig's novel was the only Babelsberg film directed by Falk Harnack, who at the time, mainly worked as a stage director, and who during the Nazi regime, was in active opposition to the state. The excellent Erwin Geschonneck plays the part of Teetjen the butcher...”
— Heinz Kersten in the Berlin Tagesspiegel on April 14, 1974
Availability
Buy the DVDStream- Biographies & Filmographies
- Falk Harnack: A Stubborn German Conscience, filmed interview with Anne Nelson, 2009
- “Käthe Braun on Falk Harnack,” interview by Ralf Schenk
- “The Axe Affair,” essay by Deborah Vietor-Englände
- "Postscript: A Letter to Author Arnold Zweig"